We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.

David Fang

There’s a project I did in a game design class which had a big impact on me. It was a board game project I collaboratively designed with 2 other classmate. Read more>>

Johnathan Gelzer

I was in college at Valencia Community College when I learned this lesson. I was looking for an internship for art, and they didn’t offer anything for traditional artists; just digital art I ternships were offered from their website. Read more>>

Lauren Merceron

In elementary school I was granted extra time on tests. At that time I was not diagnosed with dyslexia. I knew there was some sort of delay with my reading, but I did not want to be singled out. Read more>>

Vanessa Lee Abraham

I believe it was in ninth grade when I discovered the value of self-awareness. It was a multi-stage process that required repeated nudges and dedicated time to explore my feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Read more>>

Pamela O’Leary

In sophomore year of college at UC Berkeley, I took the risk to run for an executive office of student government. I auditioned to run with a premier, decades old political party called Student Action. After an extensive interview process, I was selected to be on their executive slate. Read more>>

Trenyce Tong

I was very confused about my career path when I enrolled in college. As a student at the University of Southern California, I tried out as many different classes and clubs as I could. Read more>>

Brittany Grisham

In fashion school we learned a lot about the impact of the fashion world has on the environment. In the US alone approximately 11 million tons of clothing are tossed and 92 million tons world wide. Read more>>

Nya Carney

It’s 2023, and I’ve just purchased my health coaching course. The first lesson I watched is from Dr. Andrew Weil, and his lecture starts off with the notion of rebelling—rebelling against a medical industry that continues the cycle of sickness rather than healing. Read more>>